Golmud is a rather young city. It was first established in 1954 when the Transportation regiments of Qinghai-Tibet Corps set up a food distribution base, staffed by 10 people, at the current location, and in May of that year, construction on the Qinghai-Tibet Highway commenced.[5][6] Scientific exploration of the mineral resources of Qarhan were undertaken in the 1950s, leading to the discovery of the area's potash and gas fields. Systematic surveying was undertaken in the 1960s and 1970s, with the railway permitting industrial exploitation from the 1980s. The first oil pipeline[7] and potassium fertilizer factory were opened in 1989. The 28 km2 (11 sq mi) Golmud Kunlun Economic Development Zone was opened in 1992. In 2004, a second pipeline arrived.[7] In the 2010s, an influx of further investment followed realization of the importance of the Sanhu's supplies of lithium and rare earths for modern personal electronics and electric cars.[citation needed] In 2016, over 85% of goods movement with Tibet passed through Golmud.[5]
Golmud is part of Haixi Prefecture in western Qinghai Province. Despite being nominally a "city", the built-up urban area of Golmud comprises only 72 km2 (28 sq mi) of the county's 124,500 square kilometres (48,100 sq mi). Most of the county lies in the southern Qaidam Basin and in the foothills of the Kunlun Mountains. A large southern exclave is administered as the "town" of Tanggula, separated from the rest of the county by the western panhandle of the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The northern part borders Xinjiang to its northwest; the southern exclave borders the Tibetan Autonomous Region to its southwest.
Golmud proper is at an elevation of 2,809 m (9,216 ft). It grew up alongside the Golmud River, which gave it its name.
Golmud has a cold arid climate (KöppenBWk), with long, cold winters, and warm summers. The monthly 24-hour average temperature drops to −8.4 °C (16.9 °F) in January and rises to 18.5 °C (65 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 5.76 °C (42.4 °F). Precipitation is very low, totaling only 45 millimetres (1.77 in) per annum, falling on 28 days, most of which are during the summer. Relative humidity averages only 32%, with all months below 40%, some of the lowest levels nationally. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 62% in July to 81% in November, the city receives 3,096 hours of bright sunshine annually.
Climate data for Golmud (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1971–2010)
Salt harvesting in Golmud (Qinghai) in summer 1993
The Qarhan Playa has China's largest reserves of salt, potassium, and magnesium,[19] as well as other valuable minerals. Taken together, the mineral resources in the playa were estimated to be worth over 15 trillion renminbi (RMB) as of 2002.[19] The area's salt has also trapped valuable hydrocarbons. The Sebei-1 and Sebei-2 fields near Suli Lake are also China's 4th-largest onshore reserves of natural gas[7] and the entire area may have reserves as high as 1 trillion m³ (35 trillion cu. ft.).[19] The larger Sanhu Depression includes East and West Taijinar, which hold China's largest reserves of lithium.
A pipeline delivers crude oil from Huatugou Oilfield to a refinery at Golmud.[7] The refinery has a capacity of 1 million metric tons a year; is able to produce 100,000 metric tons a year of methanol and 20,000 MT/yr of polypropylene; and has a 100,000 MT/yr gas fractionator.[7]
According to the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, the per capitadisposable income in Golmud was 6,852 yuan in the first quarter of 2017, a 9.3% increase from the one year prior.[11] Golmud has been one of the areas included in China's Targeted Poverty Alleviation program, which the Commission states has entailed the reconstruction of houses in the city with subpar living conditions, and subsidizing low-income students in the city.[11] The commission also states that the government has been developing the production of traditional woodworking, embroidery, and other local crafts through designated "demonstration areas" (Chinese: 示范区; pinyin: shìfàn qū).[11]
Statistics for 2001 show that the city's nominal GDP totaled 2.213 billion RMB, a rise of 31.9% from the previous year[19][why?] and the highest growth rate since 1990.[20]
Golmud lies along the Qinghai–Tibet railway, a 1,956 km (1,215 mi) railway that starts from Xining and ends at Lhasa in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The Golmud-Lhasa section, with a length of 1,142 km (710 mi), was the last and most challenging part of the railway to be completed. After five years of construction, the first train for Lhasa left Golmud on 1 July 2006.
The Golmud-Lhasa highway, extending 1,050 km (650 mi), is part of the 1,930-km Qinghai-Tibet highway (China National Highway 109) connecting Xining and Lhasa.
^格尔木市历史沿革 [Goldmud City Historical Development] (in Simplified Chinese). XZQH. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2018. 2000年第五次人口普查,格尔木市总人口135897人,其中:昆仑路街道38214人,金峰路街道26567人,河西街道27417人,郭勒木德乡15771人,大格勒乡2106人,乌图美仁乡1808人,唐古拉山乡1880人,格尔木铁路12249人,格尔木农场9883人。{...}2005年,格尔木市调整乡镇行政区划:撤销郭勒木德乡,设立郭勒木德镇,镇政府驻地和镇区行政区划范围不变,实行镇管村体制。2、撤销唐古拉山乡,设立唐古拉山镇,镇政府驻地和镇区行政区划范围不变,实行镇管村体制。